Trouble ticket and work flow administration systems for telecommunication services, such as DSL service (DSL, ADSL, VDSL, etc.) use mainframe computer-based file systems to compile data for management of trouble tickets relating to data communication lines (such as Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL Lines or DSL Links)) that connect network elements, such as switches at wire centers or central offices, to customer premises equipment, such as DSL modems. Each new trouble with the DSL service for a line typically results in the creation of a trouble ticket that has a unique identification number. A single file is typically associated with each trouble ticket. In a typical network, there may be several mainframe system locations of an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that handle trouble tickets for the network. Each central office typically has several switches, each switch connecting to several hundred customer DSL lines via a dedicated port for each such line. In the mainframe-based systems, each client or user, such as a service personnel of an ISP, is provided a graphical user interface (GUI) that the user can use to access a mainframe or backend system. A GUI typically uses a prompt response format. Upon receiving a user command for a particular line, the backend system retrieves the file relating to the trouble ticket for that line and sends it to the user. It typically takes several screen navigation and key strokes to read from the file. Also, field technicians typically do not have GUI interface. Technicians typically use handheld test devices to test the line at the customer end to gather performance data and convey the performance data and other information to the GUI users over telephone. The field test results are then sent to the appropriate mainframes by the GUI user, which can require multiple manual entries.
Additionally, field technicians typically do not have the ability to remotely cause network elements, such as DSLAMs and metallic line testers, to take new or real-time performance data for a line while at a customer premises or another remote location. Field personnel also generally do not have access to the real-time performance data or the historical data for evaluating and troubleshooting the line. Thus, there is a need for an improved system for accessing new and historical line performance data and for communicating the field test results to the backend systems, such as the mainframes.